Eastern Sierra gets big dump
A late spring storm dropped more than 3.5 feet of snow in parts of the eastern Sierra, briefly closing a Northern California interstate and prompting Mammoth Mountain to extend operations. (winknews.com) (tahoedailytribune.com)
A weekend storm buried parts of California’s eastern Sierra in more than 3.5 feet of snow and pushed Mammoth Mountain to keep skiing open through at least Memorial Day. (apnews.com) The National Weather Service kept a winter storm warning in effect for Mono County through 11 p.m. on Sunday, April 12, with another 5 to 12 inches forecast above 8,000 feet and local totals up to 15 inches along the Sierra crest. Winds on the crest were expected to gust as high as 60 miles per hour. (weather.gov) Interstate 80 over the Sierra did not stay fully shut for long, but Caltrans reported chain controls Sunday morning from just east of Gold Run to the Nevada state line, with truck screening on both directions of travel. (dot.ca.gov) Mammoth Mountain said after the storm that it would stay open for skiing and riding through at least Memorial Day, with spring operations shifting to Main Lodge after Canyon Lodge closes on April 19. (mammothmountain.com) The timing stood out because the snow arrived after a March heat wave had stripped much of California’s already thin snow cover. On April 1, the Sierra snowpack measured 18 percent of average, according to reporting based on the state survey near Lake Tahoe. (apnews.com) That April 1 reading mattered beyond ski season because the Sierra snowpack normally supplies about one-third of California’s water. A late storm can improve mountain conditions, but it does not erase a season that state officials had already classified as far below normal. (apnews.com) Forecasters in Reno described the setup as an active spring pattern, with heavy mountain snow in the Sierra Nevada and rain with gusty winds at lower elevations. Their public forecast on Sunday also warned of winter travel impacts in the eastern Sierra. (weather.gov ) By Monday, Mammoth was marketing its “Second Season” again — the resort’s annual spring stretch of skiing, longer daylight and reduced terrain — after a storm that made the mountain look more like midwinter than mid-April. (mammothmountain.com)
